A new igus coating powder for food technology ensures that moving machine components remain mobile in automated systems.
Automated systems are now an integral part of the food industry. But what happens?, if a bottle falls over in the bottling plant or the bagged soup gets wedged in the divider chute and tears open? Scenarios that lead to unplanned system downtimes and cost time and money.
Whether in dosing systems, on conveyor belts of filling systems or in labelling technology: Moving machine components with low coefficients of friction are required here. igus has now developed a new coating material especially for use in food technology to give guide plates, metallic slides or even parts with complex geometries a high level of wear resistance.
Coating powder suitable for food contact
The High-performance plastic IC-05 complies with the requirements of the FDA and the EU10/2011 regulation and therefore ideal for contact with food. Its blue colour makes it optically detectable. The material significantly reduces the friction coefficients of the coated parts and increases the service life and availability of the systems.
It also improves product safety and reduces costs. Lubricants can be dispensed with completely. The powder material can either be sprayed onto the desired components by the user or by igus. Layer thicknesses of 60 to 120µm are possible.
„Coating moving parts that are exposed to wear is particularly suitable for areas where there is no space for a plain bearing.“ Stefan Loockmann-Rittich, Head of the iglidur plain bearing technology division at igus GmbH
Laboratory test shows four times longer service life
The durability of the coated parts has igus in the company's own 3,800 square metre laboratory in Cologne. Here, a part coated with IC-05 was pitted against an identical part made of the standard material IC-01 in various test set-ups. In the process the FDA-compliant component scored points with a four times longer service life. In addition to IC-05, igus offers five other Coating materials for applications in the high-temperature range or with high chemical resistance, for example.
Source: igus
